Carbon Copy (1981) - May 15, 2018

[Frightener22]

Coming from Shout! Factory...

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product...roduct_id=6723

"Two-time Academy Award® winner* Denzel Washington makes his feature film debut in Carbon Copy, a wickedly funny 1981 comedy. Walter Whitney (George Segal) is a straight-laced and successful executive whose world is turned upside-down when he discovers the seventeen-year-old son he never knew he had: Roger (Washington)! In his attempts to include Roger into his family, Walter finds his comfortable life spinning hopelessly – and hilariously – out of control. Susan Saint James, Jack Warden, Dick Martin, and Paul Winfield also star in this funny familial film from director Michael Schultz (Car Wash, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band).

*2001: Actor in a Leading Role, Training Day; 1989: Actor in a Supporting Role, Glory"

[gates70]

I'm in! Haven't seen this since I've been a kid.

[B-52 Bass]

Wow, last time I seen this was back when I was watching movies in my mother's womb.

[FrankFlynn26]

Didn’t Olive Films release this a couple years ago?

[Tibor Lugosi]

I love this movie, I remember watching it in the theaters in the 80s! Denzel's first movie. Fun flick, will buy for sure!

[The Great Owl]

Good Lord, yes.

I used to watch this on HBO whenever it came on during my childhood, but I haven't seen it since the early 1980s.

[Blades1370]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Good Lord, yes.

I used to watch this on HBO whenever it came on during my childhood, but I haven't seen it since the early 1980s.

The burglary scene alone makes it worth owning....

[The Great Owl]

It's worth it just for the "Maybe God is black!" scene.

That's such a great dialogue moment, and it's one of those scenes that I remember on a frequent basis, although 35 years have passed since I saw the film.

[Guydowood]

Denzel before he became 'DENZEL'.....

[Thomas Veil]

Watched this a lot on HBO. It was on heavy rotation. Good flick.

[luv2shop]

Cannot wait for this to be released on blu!

[meremortal]

In for a blind buy.

[x5gb]

Hell yes!!! Been waiting for this for a long time. Day One purchase.

[thg]

Denzel's very first big screen appearance is a must have

[luv2shop]

Carbon Copy has dropped to $15.19!! (Amazon)

[phoenixandrew]

I was beginning my year-long stay in Honolulu when this came out. I remember seeing ads for this on TV and thinking "who is this Denzel Washington?" I saw it on HBO a year later just before I flew back home.

[The Great Owl]

Walter Whitney, a wealthy executive played by George Segal (Rollercoaster), drifts through a luxurious existence in his exclusive San Marino, California neighborhood while braving everyday frustrations due to an icy marriage with his wife, played by Susan Saint James (Love at First Bite), and employment under the overbearing eye of his father-in-law, played by Jack Warden (12 Angry Men). Walter's life is turned upside down at the drop of a hat, however, when Roger, a 17 year-old black man played by Denzel Washington in his first feature film role, arrives on the scene and introduces himself as his son. As word of mouth spreads around the community about Walter's son and about his former relationship with a black woman during his college days, he is alienated by his family, fired from his lucrative job, and frozen out of his bank accounts. Soon, a penniless Walter is living with his son in a run-down motel, and he is forced to choose where his loyalties lie.

The 1981 comedy, Carbon Copy, was a fixture on HBO during my childhood, and its deft balance of humor and social drama made quite an impact on me at that young age, when I was mostly oblivious to the socioeconomic dynamics between races. I was especially thrown for a loop back then because of a scene where Walter's wife tells him that God will never forgive him for having a black son, and he replies, “Maybe He's pleased! Maybe God is black!” This dialogue exchange compelled my childhood self to reconsider certain assumptions about ethnicity that I had never pondered before.

Last night, while I revisited Carbon Copy for the first time in over 35 years, I found that it does not quite hold up to the sensibilities of our current day and age. The opening scene, where Walter wakes up in the morning and tries to force his bored wife to make love to him, is particularly shudder-inducing now, and it does not exactly endear a present-day viewer to this protagonist. Walter's gradual change of character and his belated acknowledgement that he sold off his dreams as a young man for the sake of stability and money in his adult life by leaving his black partner to join the ranks of a privileged white clique, however, ultimately win us over. This film, even in this day and age, comes across as tame and even surprisingly sensitive in its attempts at humor with regard to showcasing the differences between Walter and his son, but a handful of race stereotypes have me rolling my eyes now.

Denzel Washington is the bright spark that really lights up the last third of this movie, when it shifts from comedy to bracing drama, and, watching it now, it's easy to see how he rose to stardom so quickly. A speech that Washington's Roger makes when he visits Segal's Walter in prison toward the end of the movie hit me like a somber load of bricks during my childhood, and it still makes my eyes water. It's a fantastic early scene from one of today's greatest actors.

Michael Schultz, who directed one of my favorite coming-of-age films, Cooley High (1975), and a few Richard Pryor comedies from back in the day, made some courageous choices here with regard to shining a light on the phenomenon of white privilege. During last night's viewing, I was pleased to find that many of the film's thematic points, while crudely executed by today's standards, still hit home.

This Shout Factory Blu-ray is bare bones, save for the trailer, but it delivers a good-looking and filmic video presentation that conveys the style and cinematography of the early 1980s era quite well. During my viewing last night, I never thought to myself, “OMG! This is a beautiful-looking Blu-ray!”, but I also did not notice any technical flaws. I have no complaints about the audio quality either.

[gates70]

Enjoyed watching this for the first time in over 20 years, although I cringed at many many scenes that were racist or really non politically correct (not that I care about that stuff in movies). I also laughed a lot too though.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by gates70

Enjoyed watching this for the first time in over 20 years, although I cringed at many many scenes that were racist or really non politically correct (not that I care about that stuff in movies). I also laughed a lot too though.

The opening bedroom scene of Carbon Copy throws me for a loop now. I'm hard-pressed to believe that it was universally acceptable even back then, because it seems really rapey these days. It's done in an amusing way, though, and it makes sense with regard to the character arcs later on.

[gates70]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The opening bedroom scene of Carbon Copy throws me for a loop now. I'm hard-pressed to believe that it was universally acceptable even back then, because it seems really rapey these days. It's done in an amusing way, though, and it makes sense with regard to the character arcs later on.

Yeah that made me cringe. A lot was accepted back in the day in movies, even slapping around women, so it doesn't surprise me.